Wednesday, April 05, 2017

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) will host a public meeting to discuss Delaware River Tailwater and Main Stem trout fishing regulations at the Hancock High School, 67 Education Lane, Hancock, on Wednesday, April 19 at 6:30 p.m. The upper Delaware River system is made up of two tailwater rivers, the East and West branches, which converge in Hancock to form the Main Stem of the Delaware River.

The meeting will outline the recent history of fishing regulations for the area’s trout streams and gather public input on ways to improve the regulations. DEC Fisheries and Law Enforcement staff will be on hand to provide information and answer questions about trout regulations and the enforcement of those regulations.

The fishing regulations are designed to ensure the continued sustainability of the fishery by setting daily catch limits as well as minimum size limits for allowable fish. In addition, some stretches of the river are designated as catch and release only, and some stretches have restricted angling methods, such as artificial lures only. The public is invited to bring their ideas and questions about how DEC manages the fishery resource in the Delaware River and its main tributaries.

For those unable to attend the meeting, the public is invited to comment on the current trout regulations and suggest ways they could be improved. Comments should be sent to Chris VanMaaren, DEC Region 4 Fisheries Manager, 65561 State Hwy 10, Stamford, NY 12167, or emailed to fwfish4@dec.ny.gov.

Sunday, April 02, 2017

Venomous snakes lurk in the brush through much of the area I spend my time. Ticks lie in ambush, waiting to jump aboard and inject disease into my blood stream. Mosquitoes hone in on carbon dioxide so they can join their tick cousins in injecting pathogens all under the guise of feeding. Then there are the over
250 black fly species in North America, with about a half dozen different
ones that have been determined to bite you.

The way I see it, they are
all determined to bite you. Though we do fare better than livestock and poultry
when it comes to fly bites. These animals can catch all sorts of nasty
and deadly diseases and even drop dead from severe blood loss and toxic
shock.

Black flies exist simply to annoy. Yes, they bite, and in some people they might cause an allergic reaction at the bite site, but according to Purdue University, there are no known diseases they transmit to humans in North America. In some areas they are called Buffalo Gnats, implying you don't need to worry about them if there aren't any bison around.

Though many black fly bites can collectively cause fever, swollen lymph nodes, nausea, and headache, don't worry about it. It's called 'Black Fly Fever" and is no big deal to those not suffering from it.

In Central and South America, and also parts of Africa, black flies can inflict a disease known as river blindness. Basically, they inject you with a worm larva that causes all sorts of skin problems and blindness. It hasn't found its way north yet, but like most things infectious, I'm sure one day it will.Black flies require clean, well oxygenated water to to breed in. With less and less of that around, it's only a matter of time until black flies become eradicated. It still has me baffled how one time I was bitten by a black fly in Bayonne, NJ.

So don't sweat the black flies. They'll only crawl in your ears, up your nose, and get in your eyes, all the while nipping at your flesh for its vampire meal. Wear a head net, bug suit, duct tape your shirt sleeves to your wrists, spray down with Raid, or any of the concoctions devised over the years to repel the bugs, and be happy knowing that at least in North America they'll only drive you crazy. Unless you're a cow... or a chicken.